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Description:
Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his brother, Orlando Osterhout, thanking him for the news in his letter. John and his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout, expressed their desire to hear more from Orlando and wanted him to visit their parents to gather more news. He wrote briefly about what he and his wife were doing and in the post script, he asked for a canning recipe for his wife.

Description:
Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his mother, Sarah Osterhout, discussing his safe arrival to Bellville, Texas. He told her he might be staying there for a few months and starting a school, but was unsure. He promised to write her a longer letter soon and let her know the mail only came through once a week.

Description:
Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Sarah Osterhout, regarding his time in Bellville, Texas. He apologized for not writing her sooner since he has been busy with setting up his business as a lawyer. He was considering purchasing slaves although he mentioned a preference for having "white hands" to work with like he did in Pennsylvania. Recently, his friends had been telling him that he was in a good position to marry and he told his mother that he had someone from Pennsylvania in mind. The rest of his family was offended that he had not written then, but he felt that they read the letters he sent to each of them and that it would be repetitive to write the same thing to all of them. He told his mother not to share this letter with any of them and shared that his lawyer business was going well.

Description:
Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his mother, Sarah Osterhout, regarding his time in Bellville, Texas since his recent move there. He was undecided about whether or not he would remain in the county or travel around Texas. He wrote about how sparse buildings were where he lived and that the way wealth was measured there was not by amount of land, but by the amount of slaves owned. Many in the area had begun growing their own gardens and he had learned from them that he needed to be careful of poisonous spiders and centipedes. John told his mother that the mail was arriving with irregularity and they were lucky if they got it once a week.

Description:
Letter from P. M. Osterhout to his brother, John Patterson Osterhout, discussing news from home and slavery. After providing John with updates from those at home, he told his brother he was unsure whether or not he would want to receive something from the black Republican in Pennsylvania. He then went on to write about his opinion on slavery and he hoped his brother was not beginning to view it as a blessing.

Description:
Letter from the Pension Office to John Patterson Osterhout discussing Lewis Summer's request for a war bounty scrip instead of land. The request was view favorably and sent to the Office of the Secretary of the Treasury. Included is an envelope addressed to "John P. Osterhout Esq."

Description:
Letter from unknown to general discussing the author's travels from Pennsylvania to the South. He detailed the route he took through Pennsylvania and where he made stops, including Philadelphia and Delaware county.

Description:
Marriage certificate for John Patterson and Junia Roberts Osterhout officiated by William Frear of the Baptist church. The wedding was held at the house of Henry Roberts in Pennsylvania and witnessed by P. M. Osterhout, James Frear, and Henry Roberts.

Description:
Oath of military service in the Western Frontier of Texas during an invasion by Mexico. The oath was made by H. M. Watkins and B. N. Robinson and certified that Private [Juno] D. Banton[deco], deceased, served under General Vasquez. John Davidson, the county clerk, served as a witness to the oath and added his seal of office to the paper.

Description:
Oath of service in the Western frontier of Texas for Elijah Collar in the fall of 1842 under General Wall. The oath was taken by James J. Allphin and tracked where Private Collar went in the Western frontier. It stated that he served in R. Williams's company as a private. On the bottom, a notary public, James S. Fai[rl]y, certified the oath and added his seal to the paper.

Description:
Proof of payment by John Patterson Osterhout for the military service of John N. Robinson. The money was due to Eliza Bennett and was paid in full. The payment was signed and dated by John Ridens.

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